rec.games.computer.ultima.* Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ) -- unofficial posting part 1/3
Paul Gilham
Posting-Frequency: biweekly
Last-modified: 17 April, 2006
Version: 3.2
URL: http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html
Copyright: (C) 2001-2006 Paul Gilham, portions (C) 1998-2000 Edward
Franks, portions (C) 1996, 1997 Andrew Charlton
Maintainer: Paul Gilham, rgcu....@gmail.com
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rec.games.computer.ultima.* Frequently Asked Questions List
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* 0) Contents/acknowledgements/disclaimer
* 1) About this FAQ
o 1.1) Purpose of this FAQ
o 1.2) Revision history
o 1.3) Latest version
o 1.4) Abbreviations
* 2) The Dragons
o 2.1) What are the Dragons?
o 2.2) Why are you named the Ultima Dragons?
o 2.3) What does UDIC stand for?
o 2.4) Can I join the Dragons?
o 2.5) How do I change my roster data?
o 2.6) What does Dragon membership qualify me for?
* 3) The Newsgroups
o 3.1) History of the newsgroups
+ 3.1.1) What about these old newsgroups?
+ 3.1.2) I can't get the current newsgroups
o 3.2) Ultima celebrities
o 3.3) What can I discuss? (The Charters)
+ 3.3.1) rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons Charter
+ 3.3.2) rec.games.computer.ultima.online Charter
+ 3.3.3) rec.games.computer.ultima.series Charter
o 3.4) Should I post binaries?
o 3.5) Can I ask for hints?
o 3.6) How do I avoid getting flamed?
o 3.7) Why don't you all stop fighting?
o 3.8) What are those strange terms you're using?
* 4) Technical and non-gameplay Issues
o 4.1) Availability of Ultimas and Ultima-related Merchandise
o + 4.1.1) Are Ultimas considered abandonware?
o 4.2) Ultima compilations
+ 4.2.1) The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD
+ 4.2.2) The Ultima Collection
+ 4.2.3) What other compilations are available?
o 4.3) Missing documentation
o 4.4) DOS issues and freeing up conventional memory
+ 4.4.1) How do I free up more memory?
+ 4.4.2) I still can't get enough!
o 4.5) Can I run the PC versions of the Ultimas in Windows 9x/ME?
o 4.6) Do the Ultimas run in modern OSes (Linux/Win2000/XP etc.)?
o 4.7) Can I slow the Ultima gameplay down on modern PCs?
o 4.8) How do I get Ultimas to work with my AWE32/AWE64/SB32 card?
o 4.9) Can I play Ultimas not released for PC?
* 5) The Ultima Series
o 5.1) What is Ultima?
o 5.2) Where can I find hints and walkthroughs?
o 5.3) Continuity
+ 5.3.1) Can you explain any plot inconsistencies?
+ 5.3.2) How should I pronounce Ultima names?
+ 5.3.3) In what order do the Ultimas run?
o 5.4) Akalabeth and Escape From Mount Drash
+ 5.4.1) Where can I find a copy of Akalabeth?
+ 5.4.2) Is Escape From Mount Drash really so rare?
o 5.5) Ultima/Ultima 1
+ 5.5.1) Availability
+ 5.5.2) Patches
o 5.6) Ultima 2: The Revenge of the Enchantress
+ 5.6.1) Patches
+ 5.6.2) Ultima 2 gives a Divide By Zero error! How do I fix it?
+ 5.6.3) Ultima 2 maps are wrong! How do I fix it?
+ 5.6.4) The Ultima 2 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
o 5.7) Ultima 3: Exodus
+ 5.7.1) The Ultima 3 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
o 5.8) Ultima 4: The Quest of the Avatar
+ 5.8.1) Patches
o 5.9) Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny
+ 5.9.1) Patches
+ 5.9.2) Cheats
o 5.10) Ultima 6: The False Prophet
+ 5.10.1) Patches
+ 5.10.2) Cheats
+ 5.10.3) Who killed Quenton?
+ 5.10.4) Is it true a full-speech version of U6 was made?
o 5.11) Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire
o 5.12) Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
o 5.13) Ultima Underworld 1: The Stygian Abyss
+ 5.13.1) Patches
+ 5.13.2) Utilities
+ 5.13.3) UW1 on Pocket PC
o 5.14) Ultima 7: The Black Gate
+ 5.14.1) Patches
+ 5.14.2) Cheats
+ 5.14.3) How do I pass the Test of Truth in the Forge of Virtue?
+ 5.14.4) How do I get past the Hydra on Ambrosia?
+ 5.14.5) Ultima 7 won't work with my Nvidia graphics card. How
do I fix it?
+ 5.14.6) Weapon and Armour Ratings
+ 5.14.7) U7-Wizard
o 5.15) Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds
+ 5.15.1) Patches
+ 5.15.2) Cheats
o 5.16) Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
+ 5.16.1) Patches
+ 5.16.2) Cheats
+ 5.16.3) Weapon and Armour Ratings
+ 5.16.4) Where is the Comb of Beauty?
+ 5.16.5) Director's Cut of Serpent Isle Introduction
+ 5.16.6) How do I save Cantra?
o 5.17) Ultima 8: Pagan
+ 5.17.1) Patches
+ 5.17.2) Cheats
+ 5.17.3) Where is the Birthplace of Moriens?
+ 5.17.4) The Lost Vale
o 5.18) Console Ultimas
+ 5.18.1) Nintendo (NES) Ultimas
+ 5.18.2) Super Nintendo (SNES) Ultimas
+ 5.18.3) Nintendo Gameboy Ultimas
+ 5.18.4) Sega Master System Ultima
+ 5.18.5) Sony Playstation Ultima
o 5.19) Ultima Online
+ 5.19.1) What is Ultima Online?
+ 5.19.2) System requirements
+ 5.19.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima Online?
+ 5.19.4) Are there any non-subscription UO servers?
+ 5.19.5) Will there be an Ultima Online 2?
o 5.20) Ultima 9: Ascension
+ 5.20.1) Patches
+ 5.20.2) Why doesn't Ultima 9: Ascension work with my system?
+ 5.20.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima 9: Ascension?
+ 5.20.4) Tools for Ultima IX: Ascension
o 5.21) Ultima Underworld 3
+ 5.21.1) Is an Ultima Underworld 3 planned?
o 5.22) Ultima 10
+ 5.22.1) Is an Ultima 10 planned?
* 6) Ultima, the Dragons and The World Wide Web
o 6.1) The Ring of Dragons
o 6.2) Works in Progress
+ 6.2.1) "New Moongates"
+ 6.2.2) The Exodus Project
+ 6.2.3) Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue
+ 6.2.4) Ultima V: Lazarus
+ 6.2.5) The Ultima 6 Project
+ 6.2.6) Nuvie
+ 6.2.7: Ultima 6 Online
+ 6.2.8: The System Shock Hack Project
+ 6.2.9: Underworld Adventures
+ 6.2.10: Exult
+ 6.2.11: Labyrinth of Worlds
+ 6.2.12: Ultima VIII: Exile
+ 6.2.13: Pentagram
o 6.3) Ultima Fan Fiction
o 6.4) How can I put Ultima runes on my web pages?
o 6.5) Is there an Ultima Windows desktop theme?
o 6.6) Ultima Levels/Maps for Other Games
+ 6.6.1) Civilization series
+ 6.6.2) CivNet
+ 6.6.3) Warcraft 2
+ 6.6.4) Warlords 2
+ 6.6.5) Unreal
+ 6.6.6) Doom 2
o 6.7) Ultima Maps
o 6.8) Are there any Ultima pen-and-paper RPGs?
* 7) Real-time Interactions
o 7.1) The Weyrmount
+ 7.1.1) What is the Weyrmount?
+ 7.1.2) How do I get there?
+ 7.1.3) What do I do once I'm there?
o 7.2) IRC
+ 7.2.1) What is IRC?
+ 7.2.2) How do I get there?
+ 7.2.3) What do I do once I'm there?
+ 7.2.4) What does "re" mean?
o 7.3) ICQ
+ 7.3.1) What is ICQ?
+ 7.3.2) Where can I find an ICQ client?
+ 7.3.3) Is there a list of ICQ numbers for the Dragons?
o 7.4) Ultima Ressurection (sic) Live
* 8) Summary
o 8.1) Consolidated list of URLs and links
o 8.2) Why isn't my page in here?
* 9) Acknowledgements and copyright notice
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This FAQ was originally conceived, and written by Andrew Charlton,
aka Erratic Dragon, aka Erraticus. It is currently maintained by
Paul Gilham, aka Samurai Dragon (contact rgcu....@gmail.com).
E-mails to this address must have the word "FAQ" in the subject.
Thanks to the previous maintainer, Edward Franks, aka Fortran Dragon,
for the hard work he put into the FAQ.
The maintainer disclaims all responsibility for inaccurate or
misleading information in this FAQ. This article is provided as-is,
without any express or implied warranties. Neither the author nor
any of the contributors assumes any responsibility for errors or
omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, the use of 'I' and 'me' outside
quotation marks refers to the FAQ maintainer. The exception to this
is the questions written by the archetypal newbie.
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1) About This FAQ
1.1) Purpose of this FAQ
This FAQ is not intended to replace the many other sources of Ultima-
and Ultima Dragons-related information available. Rather, it is
intended to summarise, supplement, and list them, for the purpose of
regularly posting to rec.games.computer.ultima.*, to cut down on some
unnecessary posts.
Most of the questions in this FAQ are real queries that have appeared
in the rec.games.computer.ultima.* groups (and their predecessors,
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons and alt.games.ultima.dragons)
reasonably frequently.
1.2) Revision History
Only the most recent changes to the FAQ are listed here. The
complete history is available from this URL:
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq-revisions.html.
[17 April 2006]
Darkling Dragon's Civ4 map added to Section 6.6.1, which has been
amended to encompass the entire Civilisation series.
[27 December 2005]
Just one change, but it's a biggie -- Ultima V: Lazarus has gone
gold and is available for download. This is reflected in the new
version of Section 6.2.4 and a slight tweak to Section 6.2.
[16 November 2005]
Section 5.4.2 amended to reflect the eBay auction of another copy
of Escape from Mount Drash. URLs of Underworld Dragon's websites
amended. Ultima V: Lazarus is now nearing completion -- appropriate
changes made to Section 6.2.4. Consolidated links in Section 8.1
updated.
[17 July 2005]
Further slight amendment to Section 5.16.6. Formatting changes.
[3 July 2005]
The possibility of saving Cantra in SI is now available under
Exult -- Section 5.16.6 amended. Minor formatting changes.
1.3) Latest Version
The most up-to-date version of the FAQ is available at:
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html. It is also
posted biweekly to rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons,
rec.games.computer.ultima.series, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,
rec.answers, comp.answers, and news.answers.
As a result of crossposting to news.answers, a text version of the
FAQ is available at
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/games/ultima and its many
mirrors (such as http://www.faqs.org).
1.4) Abbreviations
The following abbreviations may be found in this FAQ and also in the
newsgroup, IRC etc.
* U1-U9: Main sequence Ultimas, Ultima 1, Ultima 2 etc.
* U:A or UA: Ultima: Ascension (Ultima 9)
* U7 or BG: Ultima 7: The Black Gate
* U7.5, U7.2, or SI: Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
* UC: Ultima Collection
* UW1 or UUW1: Ultima Underworld 1
* UW2 or UUW2: Ultima Underworld 2
* SE: Worlds of Ultima 1: Savage Empire
* MD: Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
* AK or U0 (zero): Akalabeth
* UO: Ultima Online
* MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (like UO)
* UOL: Ultima Online Live, aka Ultima Online (NOTE: the designers
themselves prefer UO, which has also become most common among
players.)
* UX or U10: Ultima X Odyssey
* FoV: Forge of Virtue
* SS: Silver Seed
* RoV: Runes of Virtue
* RoV2: Runes of Virtue 2
* rgcud: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons and/or -dragons
* rgcu.d: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons
* rgcu-d: rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons
* rgcus: rec.games.computer.ultima.series
* rgcuo: rec.games.computer.ultima.online
* agud: alt.games.ultima.dragons
* aguo: alt.games.ultima.online
* csipgr: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
* LB: Lord British
* RG: Richard Garriott
* CPC: California Pacific Computers, the original publisher of Ultima
(no number)
* EA: Electronic Arts
* OSI: Origin Systems, Incorporated (NOTE: The older fans tend to use
Origin over OSI)
NOTE: It's probably best not to use U0 (zero) for Akalabeth, because
it can look the same as UO -- Ultima Online.
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2) The Dragons
2.1) What are the Dragons?
The Ultima Dragons are a group of people who love Ultima (see Section
5.1), a long-running series of computer role playing games (CRPGs).
You can find more information about the Dragons, as well as their
long and sordid history, in the Official UDIC FAQ at
http://www.udic.org/faq.html, maintained by Monomolecular Dragon.
The Dragons' home page and membership roster is at
http://www.udic.org/ maintained by the UDIC greeting team. The
Dragons' FTP site is at ftp://ftp.udic.org/pub/ud/.
2.2) Why are you named the Ultima Dragons?
When the club was first formed on Prodigy, there was already a group
dedicated to Ultima called the Evil Avatars -- and rival that, the
new club was called "Players of Ultima for Fun", or PUFF. This
resulted in inevitable references to Puff the Magic Dragon, and the
club was soon renamed the Ultima Dragons.
2.3) What does UDIC stand for?
The original club was on the Prodigy online service, but the club
later moved to the Internet in late 1994 with the creation of the
newsgroup alt.games.ultima.dragons (agud), forming the Ultima Dragons
Internet Chapter, or UDIC.
2.4) Can I join the Dragons?
You certainly can, provided you meet the entrance requirement -- to
have played at least one Ultima. There are several ways to join:
* The easiest, and preferred way is to use your web browser and go
to http://www.udic.org/join.html. It is recommended that you at
least read the UDIC FAQ before joining (see Section 2.1).
* If you do not have access to the World Wide Web, you can e-mail
j...@udic.org include the following information in the message:
o Your real name
o Your e-mail address
o Your proposed Dragon Name, (subject to checking to see if it
has already been taken)
o Ultimas you may have played and/or completed
o A little about yourself, so the greeters know who they are
talking to. This information is mainly used to help you select
an alternative Dragon name in case your first choice is taken.
Whichever method you use, one of the dedicated team of greeters will
process your application and get back to you. This may take a while,
as they are usually very busy.
2.5) How do I change my roster data?
If you remember the password you entered when you joined, then you
can go to http://www.udic.org/members/ and sign on. If you don't
remember your password, or you want to change your Dragon name or
e-mail address, then e-mail j...@udic.org and one of the greeting
team will handle your request.
2.6) What does Dragon membership qualify me for?
Like most things in life, you will get out of the Dragons what you
put in. If you make the effort to participate, the club can be very
rewarding, but don't expect to sit back and watch the benefits
accrue.
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3) The Newsgroups
3.1) History of the Newsgroups
While the basic historical facts are undisputed, there are several
different views on just how messy the various changes in the
newsgroups have been.
[Erratic Dragon, the original FAQ maintainer, writes:]
"The newsgroups rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons (rgcu.d),
rec.games.computer.ultima.online (rgcuo), and
rec.games.computer.ultima.series (rgcus) supersede the old newsgroups
alt.games.ultima.dragons (agud), alt.games.ultima-online (aguo), and
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons (rgcu-d). The new groups were
created on July 7, 1997 as a reorganisation of
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons. rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons
was created on 19 March 1996, five days after the vote for its
creation was passed 421:130. It was deleted on 8 September 1997.
"Prior to the creation of rgcu-d, the Ultima Dragons' newsgroup was
alt.games.ultima.dragons, this was deleted 60 days after the new
group was created (May 19th 1996). alt.games.ultima-online was a
short-lived group, the creation of which prompted the 1997 reorg. It
has been deleted in favour of the rec group. The details of the
creation (and deletion) of these newsgroups are available at
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-dragons
and
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-reorg."
[The previous FAQ maintainer, Fortran Dragon, adds:]
"NOTE: Usenet doesn't work as smoothly as the above two paragraphs by
Erratic Dragon might lead you to believe. Even though only one
person (Tale) can send out a create-group or remove-group message, it
is in the power of each newsadmin to accept or ignore the messages
sent by Tale. This is why alt.games.ultima.dragons,
alt.games.ultima-online and rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons still
continue to exist and be viable newsgroups on a number of news
servers.
"Many Dragons read agud and rgcu-d (as they do with csipgr) and will
answer questions there for those folks that can't get any of the
other newsgroups. (This is also why some Dragons, myself included,
crosspost between rgcu.d and rgcu-d.)"
3.1.1) What about these old newsgroups?
Some of the old newsgroups still exist on many servers, which can be
confusing when people find them empty or full of ancient posts. If
your local news server is one of these, you can drop a line to your
news administrator (usually newsmaster@<yourdomain>), explaining the
problem, and directing them to the URLs defining the current rgcu*
structre.
As the note in Section 3.1 states, newsadmins may choose to ignore
the above URLs (and are within their rights to do so). If this is a
problem for you, see Section 3.1.2, below.
3.1.2) I can't get the current newsgroups
If your news administrator is not willing to add the new groups you
might want to try out a public server. While it has recently started
charging for use, my personal preference would still be for Berlin
University’s server. Its fee is low (ten euros a year), and I know
several people who rely on it for their Usenet access. You can apply
for an account at its website, http://news.individual.net/.
You could also try the following links (original information provided
by F-15 Dragon), which might turn up a fee-free server near you:
* http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chats_and_Foru
m/Usenet/Public_Access_Usenet_Sites/
* http://www.findolin.com/
* Google Groups, http://groups.google.com
If none of the above works, you can e-mail Fortran Dragon at
fortrandra...@hotmail.com and ask to be put on his digest mailing
list. He kindly makes a daily e-mailing of all the posts made to
rgcu.d since the last digest.
3.2) Ultima Celebrities
A handful of former Origin staff have participated in the rgcud from
time to time, including:
* Bill Armintrout,
Worked on Serpent Isle -- he sometimes posted to fess up about
bugs in the game :)
* Dr. Cat,
Worked on several Ultimas, including Ultima 6 and the Runes of
Virtue games. Dr. Cat now runs an online game called Furcadia,
at http://www.furcadia.com/
* Jason Ely,
A developer on U8 and the author of the U6 Adlib patch
* Mike McCoy aka Boomer,
Origin's online PR person, though he specialises in Ultima Online
and the Janes product group
* Chris McCubbin,
The writer of a number of hints books for Origin/Prima
* Mike McShaffry, aka Mr. Mike,
Director and part of the programming team for Ultima 8
* Brian Martin,
Design co-ordinator for Ultima 9, who also worked on UO
* Richard Steinberg,
The former online PR guy for Origin. He goes by the name "Mr
Smarty Pants" (or simply "mrpants") because he writes the Mr
Smarty Pants Knows column for The Austin Chronicle. He left
Origin some time before its dissolution, but he's bound to have
an opinion here and there
* Carly Staehlin-Taylor aka Lady MOI,
Origin's Answer Lady for U9
* Bill Jensen, aka Arbuthnot Dragon
[Rainbow Dragon writes:] "After Ultima 4, Bill struck a coin for
LB which had the codex symbol on one side and the bell, book and
candle on the other. This coin was the inspiration for U5's
trinket, the codex coin. As a reward, LB put Bill and his family
into the game -- you can find them in one of the lighthouses (I
forget which one exactly). And Origin minted a magical coin that
brought the Avatar to Britannia.
"Several Dragons, including me, have copies of the original coin
-- they were passed out at MADCAP 96, hosted by Monomolecular. I
also have a copy of the letter which LB originally sent to Bill
back in 1986, wherein he calls the coin "the best Ultima-related
present I have ever received" and promises to put Bill and his
family in U5."
* Several people have posted to tell us they had their portrait used
in Serpent Isle.
3.3) What can I discuss? (The Charters)
The topic of a newsgroup is defined by its charter. Each of the
Ultima newsgroups has its own charter, plus the common charter which
applies to all of them.
CHARTER: all groups
Cross-posting or multiple posting among Ultima groups is not
recommended. However, it is likely that cross-posting of certain
articles may become necessary. Authors should select the most
appropriate group, whenever possible, when posting their articles.
Posting or cross-posting articles which do not consist mainly of text
easily readable by humans (i.e. binary files or encrypted text) is
prohibited. If it is necessary to transfer binaries, posters should
include a pointer to an appropriate FTP/WWW site, or use an
appropriate binaries newsgroup. Posting commercial solicitations or
inquiries which are not directly related to Ultima is prohibited.
Frequent posting of the same advertisement, even Ultima-specific, is
also prohibited.
END CHARTER.
3.3.1) rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons
rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons an unmoderated forum for discussion
of issues of interest to members of the Ultima Dragons Internet
Chapter and all fans of the Ultima games. Topics will include
discussion of current games, news and rumours, tips and advice from
members of the Ultima Dragons, talk about organisational matters of
the UDIC, discussions about the UDIC's facilities like the Weyrmount
MOO as well as the WWW and FTP sites, story authoring, and other club
related issues of interest to members of the Ultima Dragons Internet
Chapter and other participants in the newsgroup.
END CHARTER.
NOTE: This group can be considered a meeting hall for members of the
Ultima Dragons club, and all other interested parties. Ultima talk
is welcomed, but is not mandatory. The subject matter in the group
has ranged between serious topics like history, religion and
cinnabons, to plot ("in character") threads, to outright silliness.
Those looking for a more concentrated dose of Ultima, without all the
extra "chat" are advised to read rec.games.computer.ultima.series.
3.3.2) rec.games.computer.ultima.online Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.online
rec.games.computer.ultima.online is an unmoderated forum for
discussion of all aspects of the online multi-player game Ultima
Online, as well as its sequels and other multi-player versions of
Ultima. Topics specific to the online version of the game are
welcome here, including but not limited to features, events within
the game world, guilds within the game, and real-world issues with
the game (e.g. pricing, latency, etc.).
END CHARTER.
3.3.3) rec.games.computer.ultima.series Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.series
rec.games.computer.ultima.series is an unmoderated forum for
discussion of any topic related to the Ultima series of games which
would not be more appropriate in another group. These topics
include, but are not limited to, questions and answers about the
games, hints and tips, comparisons of the various versions of Ultima
or similar games, news and rumours, etc.
NOTE: this group is intended to provide a place in which people can
easily find information about the Ultima games without having to go
through unrelated traffic. As such, if a discussion drifts away from
the original topic, it is recommended to direct it to a more
appropriate group, although some tolerance is required.
END CHARTER.
3.4) Should I post binaries?
No. Binaries should only be posted in binaries groups
(alt.binaries.* plus a few others). There are a few reasons for
this. Probably the most important is so people can avoid downloading
large binaries that they may not want.
If you want to post some Ultima related binaries, post them to an
appropriate alt.binaries.* group, or put it on a web or FTP site,
then post a note in the appropriate newsgroup telling the readers
there where they can find it.
3.5) Can I ask for hints?
Yes, it is one of the groups' primary functions. We ask only that
you follow a few guidelines:
* Choose the appropriate newsgroup for your query, i.e. don't ask
about Ultima 4 in rgcuo.
* A good, descriptive subject line, including the name of the Ultima
you are having problems with (see also, Section 1.4 for some
abbreviations; it might be nice to use square brackets around
these), and a brief description of the problem. e.g. "[U1] How do I
kill Lord British?". This allows people to zero in on questions to
which they know the answer.
* If you are asking a technical question, try to include some info
about your system. In particular, what you are loading in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS (or equivalents in later versions of
Windows). Drivespace, for example, can take up lots of memory, and
would be significant.
3.6) How do I avoid getting flamed?
You're reading this FAQ, which is a good start. Before asking a
question, see if the answer is in this FAQ, or the other resources
mentioned here. When you first point your newsreader at the
newsgroups, there will probably be a few days' worth of messages
(around 1,000 on most news-servers) waiting for you. Just read
through some of them to get an idea of the way the groups operate.
For an overview of Usenet etiquette, please read the newsgroup
news.announce.newusers, which contains a number of documents which
offer useful information.
3.7) Why don't you all stop fighting?
Most of the time, posters in the rgcu* groups aren't fighting at all,
simply debating. We manage to discuss some pretty touchy issues
without degenerating into a flamewar.
Occasionally, these will spring up, but usually, there are only a few
participating. Please don't avoid posting for fear of being flamed.
Follow the guidelines in Section 3.6 and you'll be fine.
Participating can be a lot of fun.
The previous FAQ maintainer stated that, in his experience, flamewars
have to run their course. He felt calling on people to stop doesn't
work -- it just adds fuel to the fire, and spreads the flamewar to
new threads. Having tried and failed to intercede in flamewars on
occasion myself, I can vouch for this approach. <:)
The best way to deal with flamewars is to ignore them, as I now
largely do. Many newsreaders have functions to ignore ("kill")
either people or threads. If you see a flamewar spring up, you may
want to ignore it, simply by putting the threads or participants in
your "killfile". You can do the same for topics you aren't
personally interested in. Consult the documentation for your
newsreader for details.
Two recommended Windows-based newsreaders that support killfiles
are Forte Agent (http://www.forteinc.com/) or Microplanet Gravity
(http://cws.internet.com/news-gravity.html). Other quality
newsreaders may be found at the home of the Good Net-Keeping Seal of
Approval (http://www.xs4all.nl/~js/gnksa/).
3.8) What are those strange terms you're using?
During their history, the newsgroups, particularly agud and rgcud,
have produced some fairly unusual names and terms of reference. A
good number of them are explained by Paulon Dragon at the UDICtionary
site, http://www.ultimainfo.net/Misc/UDICtionary.htm.
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4) Technical and Non-gameplay Issues
4.1) Availability of Ultimas and Ultima-related merchandise
Underworld Dragon has written The Collectible Ultima, available at
http://www.notableultima.com/collectibles/. Televar Dragon has
created a similar Ultima Collectors' Guide at:
http://www.surfing.net/ultima/ucg. Both these contain information on
what Ultima memorabilia exists and where you might find it.
Some of the online auction sites, such as eBay
(http://www.ebay.com/), Yahoo! Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com/),
and Amazon Auctions (which you can find on the 'auctions' tab at
http://www.amazon.com/) are good places to locate the various
Ultimas. Many of the early and/or very collectible Ultimas can go
for high prices, but it is still possible -- with a couple of
exceptions -- to get a decent buy on various Ultimas if you are
willing to be patient.
4.1.1) Are Ultimas considered abandonware?
There are many arguments about the ethics of abandonware, but they're
irrelevant to its actual standing in law -- it is illegal, plain and
simple. (See Section 4.9 for further discussion of related copyright
issues.)
With only one exception (see Section 5.8 for details), the Ultimas
are not legitimately downloadable from the Internet. If you request
links to warez sites or other help with making unlawful copies of the
games, expect short shrift from the newsgroup regulars. Software
piracy is not popular with most RGCU* readers.
4.2) Ultima compilations
4.2.1) The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD
The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD (see Section 4.1) isn't seen very much these
days -- the Ultima Collection is more common and has decent
documentation, to boot. There are several problems relating to the
CD which are discussed in a FAQ by Ultra-Mind Dragon at
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html.
Section 4.3 of this FAQ also examines the problem.
4.2.2) The Ultima Collection
Electronic Arts released a budget version of the Ultima Collection in
stores a while back, but it's no longer commercially available,
unless you're very lucky. Again, auction sites are the best place to
look (see Section 4.1) though I understand branches of Babbages, in
the USA, might still have copies of the UC on their shelves.
You will probably encounter problems playing some of the games from
the UC on modern computers -- see Sections 4.4 to 4.8 and 5.6.3 for
details. The games do at least come with the U2 speed fix already
applied and a registered version of the PC slowdown program, Mo'Slo.
The UC will automatically install shortcuts for Windows 9x, but you
must install the Ultima Collection to its default location (c:\uc\)
in order for the shortcuts to work properly.
4.2.3) What other compilations are available?
The first three cardinal Ultimas were released by Origin as the
Ultima Trilogy in 1989, and U4, U5 and U6 as Ultima, The Second
Trilogy, in 1992 (see Section 4.1 for more details). There is also a
CD-ROM containing both Ultima Underworlds. In all cases, online
auction sites probably offer the best chance of finding them.
4.3) Missing Documentation
The Encore CD was mistakenly released with no documentation. Origin
has made the docs available at http://uo.com/archive/ listed under
their respective Ultimas. (See also, Section 4.2)
NOTE: As of March 14, 1999, Origin has stated that the Ultima Archive
site will no longer be updated. In 2001, OSI as an entity ceased to
exist. Its owner, EA, is now directly responsible for all Ultima
products, inasmuch as OSI was before.
Since the downloadable documents from the EA Ultima Archive are
mainly technical, they don't capture the feel of the original
manuals. Micro Dragon made versions of the original documentation
available on his old site -- Polychromic Dragon mirrors the contents
at http://home.comcast.net/~micro.dragon/index2.html.
Paulon Dragon has also mirrored the files, here:
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm, and Trigon Dragon is
undertaking a similar project, with the documents and some pictures
available as Adobe PDF files, here:
http://members.aol.com/trigonman3/intro.html.
There might be certain versions of the Complete Ultima 7 that came
without docs. Most had them on the CD in Adobe PDF format. The full
docs are not available online, but the Trinsic questions are
available at Origin's Ultima Archive http://uo.com/archive/.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (required to view Adobe PDF files) may be freely
downloaded at Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/. Versions of
the Reader are available for a variety of different operating
systems.
4.4) DOS issues and freeing up conventional memory
Many Ultima players find rebooting in DOS to be the best way of
running the games -- but several, particularly U7, need a very large
slice of the 640KB conventional memory that DOS earmarked for running
programs. This section offers some methods of dealing with the
issue.
4.4.1) How do I free up more memory?
For Windows 95/98/ME, see Section 4.4. For DOS users, you'll
probably want to make a boot disk containing just the bare minimum
device drivers.
First, format a floppy like so:
* FORMAT A: /s
Then with a text editor, create the following files on the disk:
* CONFIG.SYS:
o DEVICEC:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
o FILES%
o DOSHIGH,UMB
(If you use Drivespace include)
o DEVICEHIGHC:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
* AUTOEXEC.BAT:
o LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE
Whenever you want to play, boot from this floppy.
NOTE: Some of your directories may be different, substitute them as
appropriate. Even with this minimal configuration, Serpent Isle can
be tricky to get working -- see Section 4.4.2 for further
suggestions.
4.4.2) I still can't get enough!
Some device drivers will cause U7/SI to misreport the memory, and
refuse to start. If you have followed the instructions in
Section 4.4.1, the only device driver you should have loaded is your
mouse driver. Try replacing it with one that takes up less space,
like the current version of CTMouse (available at
http://cutemouse.sourceforge.net/ -- but do ensure you avoid
version 1.4, which has bug that uses lots of DOS memory).
Among the drivers which cause problems is the Maxtor (OnTrack) Hard
Drive Overlay (identifiable by a blue banner when you start up) which
allows older computers to have larger hard drives. If you press the
<S> key as soon as the blue banner appears, you will get a DOS
message about turning off Dynamic Memory Protection. Answer Yes, and
you may find enough memory is freed to play the game.
Older PCs may also have Drivespace running, to compress hard-disk
space. The driver uses up a lot of memory, so try using a DOS 5 boot
disk, preventing it from loading. If you do this, you will only be
able to access the uncompressed portion of the drive -- the rest is
still there, and will return when you load with DOS 6 again. Do not
include the drivespace line if you use this method.
4.5) Can I run the PC versions of the Ultimas in Windows 9x/ME?
Ultimas 1-6 require no special considerations for Windows 95/98/ME
when running in a full-screen MS-DOS window (that is, a Windows 9x
DOS-box). (See Section 4.2.2 and Section 4.7 for other problems
relating to these games.)
The IBM PC versions of Ultima 2 and Ultima 3 will run fine (other
than speed issues) in a Windows 9x DOS box, or under Windows 95 and
Windows 95a if you boot to DOS. But they will not run under
Windows 9x on a FAT-32 drive that has been booted directly to DOS.
Apparently these two Ultimas, being the oldest IBM PC versions, get a
return value that causes them to crash or lock up when they access
either a FAT-32 drive or the files on such a drive.
Perhaps the best solution is to use the Exodus Project U2/U3 upgrades
(see Section 6.2.2), which address the problem. The Windows Native
Ultima 2 (see Section 5.6.2) works, too. Another practical
workaround, for either game, is to copy them to a non-FAT-32 disk
(such as a floppy -- these games are old enough to fit on a single
3.5" disk) and run them from that disk.
Both parts of Ultima 7 and Ultima 8 are much more problematic under
Win98. To help new players get the game running in these OSes,
Gaseous Dragon has also provided an Ultima 7 For Beginners page at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima7.html and an Ultima 8 For
Beginners page at http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima8.html.
You can now run Ultima 7 (both parts) and Ultima 8 under Windows 9x,
without shutting down to DOS, thanks to patches written by Dragon
Baroque. Gaseous Dragon is hosting these patches at his site,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/. You will need to have a copy of
one of the various CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The Complete Ultima
7, any of the EA Classics versions, or any of the Ultima Collection
versions) and Ultima 8 for the patches to work.
You may want to do a fresh install and, if you want sound and music,
make sure your sound-card is set up properly for Ultima 7 or Ultima 8
to find it. Also, you will need to make sure you have enough
conventional DOS memory (under 640KB) for Ultima 7. While this patch
allows you to run U7 and U8 under Windows 9x, it does not make them
Windows programs.
CONTINUED...